Andrew Denson explores the public memory of Cherokee removal as it developed from the early 20th century through to the beginning of the 21st century. He explores the power and meaning of the most famous southern Indiana episode in a variety of modern contexts.

The structure of the book documents how the tourist industry embrace of Cherokee history in the 1920s and 1930s, to the substantial ware of removal commemoration that developed after WWII to the national campaign to remember the trail of tears that comes to the present day.

Denson argues that memorialising the Cherokee removal is a southern tradition, not a recent innovation. By examining the commemoration of Indian removal, Denson opens new terrain for native American scholarship within southern history. I enjoyed how Denson lets readers know that he wrestled with his own research motivations, and how his research evolved during its process.